Poudel Pooja, Yu Jianghong
Internal Medicine, State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, USA.
Rheumatology, State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, USA.
Cureus. 2020 Jun 6;12(6):e8474. doi: 10.7759/cureus.8474.
Rheumatology is a broad specialty in itself, and it involves caring for patients of all age groups. Patients of different age groups have different characteristics and a one-size-fits-all approach is not feasible in catering to their diverse medical needs. The presentation and the manifestations of diseases vary in different age groups. We have pediatric rheumatology as a separate subspecialty where pediatric patients with rheumatological diseases are provided specific care best suited to their needs. However, for older patients, such a separate subspecialty is not widely available in medical practice. Geriatric rheumatology or gerontorheumatology is a branch of rheumatology dealing with older patients with rheumatological diseases. It is high time to consider establishing geriatric rheumatology as a separate subspecialty to provide better care for older patients.
风湿病学本身就是一个广泛的专业领域，它涉及照顾各个年龄段的患者。不同年龄组的患者有不同的特点，采用一刀切的方法来满足他们多样化的医疗需求是不可行的。疾病的表现和症状在不同年龄组中各不相同。我们有小儿风湿病学作为一个独立的亚专业，为患有风湿性疾病的儿科患者提供最适合他们需求的特殊护理。然而，对于老年患者来说，这样一个独立的亚专业在医疗实践中并不广泛存在。老年风湿病学是风湿病学的一个分支，专门处理患有风湿性疾病的老年患者。现在是时候考虑将老年风湿病学确立为一个独立的亚专业，以便为老年患者提供更好的护理了。
